KTM Class 82
The Class 82 was a multiple-unit electric locomotive operating for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad. Overview The Class 82 was the third electric locomotive to be introduced in KTM in 1999. 22 sets, each in a 3-car formation, were built and delivered by Union Carriage & Wagon of South Africa. The Class 82 sets were deployed in stages, with the final batch, being operational as late as December 1998. The KTM class 82 three-car formation consists of two motor cabs at either end of the set and a single trailer car in between, the trailer car in between is equipped with a double-arm Z shaped pantograph for 25 kV AC electric pick up. Narrow gangways integrate the three-car sets, allowing full walking from cab to cab. Each car features two double-leaf electric plug doors at either side. Printed route maps are displayed each doors, along with emergency stop levers. The Class 82 was designed with a streamlined sloped head with two high beam lamps concentrated at the center top with two standard headlights at either sides. An ARR coupling system is used, and this is compatible with all of KTMB’s modern rolling stock. Route direction is indicated on the front of the train within a confined fluorescent lighted box using a lightly transparent plastic. The drivers cab features a dedicated access to outside on top of the door access to the passenger area. The class 82 have two double-leaf pressure plug doors per side each coach. The cab head is designed to be bottom heavy with the bulk of the power transformers located beneath the coach with full use of the top for passenger use, power traction motors are contained within the bogey itself. In terms of safety, the front outer frame is made of heavy carbonized steel, that is capable of sustaining high impact. Unlike the latter Class 92, the Class 82, like its sister classes are endowed with multi-layered tempered glass that is of a higher degree of impact resistance. The Class 82 has a top speed of 140 km/h, at the time of launch this was similar to the top speed of the other classes but significantly faster than the railbuses that were in use at the time. During normal operation, 120 km/h was the typical top speed with the average speed being around 45 km/h. Compared to the Class 81 and other railbuses (except Class 83), the Class 82 was found to be the give better energy efficiency when compared to the class 81, this is due to the superior GEC Alstom regenerative braking system being used and gave better acceleration during runs. Over its operational life, the KTM class 82 has seen its life extended through, numerous schemes of overhauling and refurbishment. However, due to closure of Union carriage & Wagons’s international rail business saw an end to any future replacement parts for the class 82. Tropical weather which the class 82 proved more that than taxing for the class 82 with the premature failure of many irreplaceable parts. Although, there has been attempts to substitute parts with those of a different make, the economics and technological expertise were not on the side of the class 82, and the class 82 soon found itself in the precarious state of having to resort to cannibalize the parts of older sets in order to keep the remaining fleet in operation. In 2012, an attempt of fresh refurbishments has seen a mixture of traverse and longitudinal seating being introduced with a heavy emphasis on longitudinal seating, in acknowledgement of the classes' main role being in an intra-city commuter. Although, this was a good attempt at making increasing the overall capacity, it failed to addressed a key fundamental problem, the sets were running without replacement parts and off the shelf replacement parts from other makes are incompatible with this class. 2012 also saw the introduction of the special hybrid train service, where diesel locomotives were made to pull these decrepit class 82 bodies with functional doors, lighting and air conditioners. Since the power transformers and power pick up systems could not be replaced, the company elected the use of additional diesel generators affixed on hopper wagons to power up the EMU. In effect, it reduced the role of these sets to nothing more than unpowered passenger coaches, but its use still had better convenience than compared to KTMB’s traditional unpowered coaches, which typically tend to be those specifically designed for long-distance intercity use, i.e. the doors were narrow and few, with limited standing space while having an open emphasis on comfortable seating. As mentioned the Class 82 is not like that, and was designed specifically to meet its role as a sub-urban commuter and gracefully step up to its role as a commuter rail wagon. As of the mid-2010s, none of the Class 82s remain in service. Six trainsets are currently found in the train yard at Ipoh. Formation Numbering The trainsets are numbered from EMU 41 to EMU 62. Livery The trainsets are delivered in a blue and yellow commuter livery. Category:Electric Trainsets Category:Electric Locomotives Category:Malaysian locomotives